Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name:  Toke Fosgaard
Author-Name-First: Toke
Author-Name-Last: Fosgaard
Author-Email: tf@foi.ku.dk
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen
Title: The Emotional Consequences of Pro-social Behavior in Markets
Abstract: Pro-social behavior made when buying private goods is becoming increasingly popular. Several findings from behavioral and experimental economics however emphasizes that people are less pro-social in such situations, compared to pro-social decisions in non-market contexts. This paper suggests that emotional responses are important explanations of this finding. It is first argued that the emotional response to a pro-social decision combined with private good purchase is different from the response to a similar decision in a non-market situation. Through evidence from a laboratory experiment, it is then found, that deciding on a social choice in a market exchange involves a less positive emotional reaction to others, compared to non-market situations. Moreover, subjects in market contexts are found to be less responsive to other subjects’ contribution behavior, relative to the non-market contexts.
Length:  26 pages
Creation-Date:  2011-12
File-URL: http://okonomi.foi.dk/workingpapers/WPpdf/WP2012/WP_2012_1_emotional_consequences.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf
Number: 2012/1
Classification-JEL: C92, H41, M14
Keywords: Emotions; market exchange; pro-social behavior
Handle: RePEc:foi:wpaper:2012_1